Following on from the success of XXXmas Carol the 2021 sell-out alternative Christmas cabaret, the team at Wales Millennium Centre and Duncan Hallis Production have reinvented C.S.Lewis’s, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
If you’ve not been to Cardiff Bay recently, you’d be forgiven for not knowing about the current renovation the Wales Millennium Centre is undergoing. With work aiming to be complete for early next year Cardiff Bay will have a new home for all things Cabaret.
The opening season of Cabaret, Wales Millennium Centre’s vibrant new venue, has been launched – opening in February 2023 showcasing the very best in drag, burlesque, comedy, gig theatre and more.
With a provocative, joyful and sometimes wild line up, Cabaret will be a safe space for everyone to express and enjoy themselves.
Cabaret’s inaugural season features local collaborations with Cardiff Cabaret Club, Glitter Cymru and The Queer Emporium, as well as hot-ticket touring acts Big Band Burlesque and TV’s Paulus who celebrates the music of Victoria Wood.
Cabaret is part of Wales Millennium Centre’s ongoing transformation into a creative hub for everyone. The dedicated venue will seat around 120 and serve emerging and eclectic talent like nowhere else in Wales, bringing a little taste of Soho to Cardiff Bay.
The venue has been designed to make everyone feel at home with accessible and gender-neutral facilities.
Until the new space is ready performances will take place in Weston Studio, best accessed through Entrance B of the Wales Millennium Centre near the Senedd.
The Weston Studio is a fantastic and versatile space, which is perfect for these types of events, and especially those with aerial trapeze. The space is able to cater for up to 170 guests, which makes is great for intimate performances such as this one.
For this performance, the space has been transformed to give us a taste of cabaret. Seats are unserved so make sure you arrive early to grab the best seats – although I don’t think there is a ‘bad seat’ in the house. What makes this space a little bit different to those in the Donald Gordon Theatre, is that you have tables and an app-ordering service, allowing you to order drinks and snacks directly to your table. You will even find some naughty themed cocktails, designed especially for the The Lion, the B!tch and the Wardrobe show.
Get ready to step through the wardrobe…department, past the costumes and fur coats through the forest until you find a clearing with a lamp post. Step into an alternative Narnia met by the flirtatious faun Mr Bumnus, wicked wolves, some “beavers” and the baddest b!tch of all – Cardiff drag legend Polly Amorous (Twm Boolean-Molloy).
Polly rummages deep in her wardrobe of wonders for the perfect presents. What she finds – dazzling drag, sensational circus performances, bewitching burlesque, and a sprinkle of festive naughtiness will help you understand why Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are omitted from this production.
Instead, Polly takes up the leading role as she journeys through Narnia… but not in the role she expected. This local beaver-busting diva will take no messing from any creatures or queens that crosses her path, and certainly not from any spank-loving fauns.
Though a land of perpetual winter, Narnia is about to get H.O.T. In the company of Rahim El Habachi in the role of Ass-lan with his sacrifice for the sake of Narnia and treats everyone to a ‘belly dance’.
Bunmi Odumosu takes on the role of Narnia’s Queen, one which Polly may have had her eye on. By the end, Polly admits, that perhaps Bunmi did a pretty good job after all – something which the audience unanimously agrees with a resounding applause. Bunmi is an absolute wonder of talents and along with Mr Bumnus, is the goddess of aerial with her air arts display.
Asha Jane not only has the voice of an angel, she also helps Polly on her journey as Mrs Beaver. But remember, not everything is as it may seem in Narnia.
The wonderful Foo Foo LaBelle (Stephanie Gawne) is scarily good at being bad in the role of Maugrim the Queen’s wolf, and makes for a sexy Santa. Unfortunately, technology let them down with this part of the performance, with the microphone cutting out every other word it was difficult to piece together everything being said. As is the way in theatre the show must go on, and on it went.
Eric McGill gives a spanking good performance as Mr Bumnus. From aerial lamp pole dancing to a trapeze routine that will have you on the edge of your seat, what a talent to have.
We certainly can’t forget about Felix Sürbe – musical director, pianist and juggler extraordinaire, he also made sure to keep the play on track.
This show is certainly different with heels that make your feet ache just looking at them. I salute the performers for their stamina and ability to defy gravity in them. For those of you that have never tried a pair on before, take it from me, it’s quite a triumph.
With Polly Defying Gravity at the start of the second act she called on Phillippa the stage manager to help with her lines whilst finding her way back to solid ground. Phillippa wasn’t the only crew member called upon, Eric may have left Polly hanging for a while but saw to it that the trapeze, harnesses and other aerial equipment was safely stowed away.
With a special shout out to the crew behind the scenes for fantastic work they’ve done. To name just a few the set design was done by Cory Shipp, Sherry Coenen lighting designer with George Hampton Wale and James Valentine on costume design.
Putting the gold clad ass into Ass-lan, the ‘B’ into B!tch and plenty of Ho Ho Hos, prepare yourself for a naughty night of entertainment that will have you roaring with laughter.
- Date: 8 – 31 December 2022 in the Weston Studio
- Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes approximately (including 1 20 minute interval)
- With an age restriction of 18+ the performance contains adult content, nudity, strong language, loud bangs and strobe lighting.
Tickets start from £15 and can be purchased here.
